Students stay afloat in a tumultuous economy

There was no opportunity to move up the ladder at her job cleaning hotel rooms, so the wife and mother of two decided to apply to Central New Mexico Community College (CNM).

She was excited, but her joy only lasted a few weeks. She soon found out going to school meant putting her job status in peril. Because of her class schedule, Garcia was unable to work the hours her employer needed her to. Garcia lost her job and so did her husband, who worked for a small construction company that folded under the weight of the poor housing market. Garcia and her husband were late on rent and in danger of getting kicked out of their home. Both were attending classes at CNM, and they didn’t want to quit.

Dateline: Spain—A British expat who speaks only a few words of Spanish has become the “accidental mayor” of a town on the Costa Blanca. Mark Lewis, 58, has been left in charge of San Fulgencio after the mayor, deputy mayor and four senior councilors were all taken into police custody following corruption allegations. Mr. Lewis was given the title as he is the only one of the two councilors from the ruling coalition not to be arrested, reports the Daily Telegraph. Mr. Lewis refused to comment on his new position except to say, “It’s only temporary, I hope.” Lewis, who lives in Spain with his family, previously held the title of Councilor for Animals, which involved organizing searches for lost pets and monitoring the local animal rescue shelter.

In a reply to the Alibi article “The Definitive KiMo Ghost” [Feature, Oct. 23-29] New Mexico Paranormal Investigators (NMPI) would like the opportunity to refute certain misleading and disparaging claims.